Code Purple
by Genie For Your Wish
Summary: She was red, he was blue. — GrayErza.
1. The First of Many

It's GrayZa Week guys! And welcome to my GrayZa Week 2015 oneshot collection. I'm so excited. It's my first time participating (I was going to last year but laziness got the better of me), and I can't wait to see everybody else's submissions. I'm not really happy with this one. There wasn't enough GrayZa but oh well. Enjoy!

 _Day One:_ _First Mission_

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Fairy Tail.

* * *

It wasn't his bright idea to tag along. No, if it weren't for Gramps insisting that he go along with her, he would have been doing something else worthy of his time, like training, or going off on a mission of his own, alone. Instead, he was forced to tag along with Erza Scarlet on her first mission.

Gray had no idea why Gramps insisted that he go with the new girl. He thought that she'd do fine on her own, seeing as how she could clearly take care of herself (he had the bruises to prove it). However Gramps clearly thought otherwise when he decided that he should come with her, to 'show her the ropes' as he termed it. But there was nothing _to_ show. You just take a job from the job request board, go to the specified location and complete the request. That was all there was to it. And since Erza was smart enough to start off with something simple like searching for someone's lost pet, she clearly didn't need his help.

Which was why he was now peeking out from behind a tree as he watched the red haired girl walk to wherever she was supposed to go. His pride refused to let him ask her if he could come along, so instead he decided to trail her and keep an eye out for her instead. At least this way he was still 'tagging along' except from afar, and without physically interacting with the girl. It was a win-win situation.

He figured that Erza wouldn't enjoy his company either, since he clearly didn't enjoy hers. She was obnoxious and too quiet. She kept acting like she was the best and didn't need any sort of help, plus she refused to interact with any of the guild except for Gramps. That was why he disliked her. If you're part of a guild, at least act like it. He knew that there were several attempts by other members to speak with her but she blatantly ignored them. It had annoyed him to no end.

As the young ice mage kept his eye trained on the mop of red hair, practically glaring daggers into her head, he didn't take notice of the girl abruptly stopping in the middle of her path, her fists clenched at her sides. "So are you going to keep stalking me? Or are you going to come out here and tell me what you want," she said loudly, shaking Gray out of his trance.

When he finally digested what she said, he scowled and stepped out from behind the tree, his glare even dirtier than before. "I wasn't stalking you," he grumbled, "I was trailing you. There's a difference."

He crossed his arms whilst Erza kept her back facing him. She wasn't in the mood to deal with his shenanigans. "And besides, it's not like I wanted to come anyway. If it weren't for Gramps telling me to join you, I wouldn't even be here."

Now that caught her attention, causing her to sharply turn and raise an eyebrow.

"What?" she asked, not believing what he had just said. This was the first time she had heard of this. Surely he couldn't be telling the truth.

"Yeah, Gramps insisted that I go with you because apparently I have to ' _show you the ropes_ ', his words not mine," he explained grumpily, his scowl ever present on his face.

Erza frowned to herself. Show her the ropes? She highly doubted that she'd need help, especially from Gray of all people. But if it was Master ordering it, then there must be a good reason. She trusted him, unlike the ice mage in front of her.

"Fine. If Master says so, then you will join me," she declared promptly, before turning around with her head held high. She didn't wait for him to respond, instead continuing to walk toward her destination. She wasn't going to question him any longer. The sooner she got the job completed, the sooner she could go home and rid herself of his company. She wasn't exactly fond of Gray, mainly because he was a brat who had nothing better to do but pick a fight with her on a daily basis. She didn't understand his goal, and she only played along because she knew she could end it quickly, meaning less time to spend in his company. Plus the boy practically wore no clothes at all, and has he no shame? She had never seen anything like him, and she was far from impressed.

As she continued walking, she realised that the boy behind her was still rooted to his spot, probably staring dumbly after her just like the idiot he was. She sighed and rolled her eyes, continuing to walk along. "Well are you going to stand there all day or are you actually going to move your feet and walk along? The sooner we get the job done, the less time we have to spend with each other. I'm sure you'd like that," she called, never turning her back to look at him.

For the second time that day, his scowl deepened when he finally processed her words. He dragged his feet along to follow after her, keeping a sizeable distance away from her as he walked with his hands shoved in his pockets. She did have a point. The sooner they got it done, the better. He really did not like being in the girl's company. He could practically feel all the tension and awkward oozing from between them.

The journey was longer than either of them would have liked, but perhaps that was because they felt that time was passing by them really slowly. The awkward atmosphere that had surrounded the two still hung thick in the air, with no hopes for clearing any time soon. As they walked silently with each other, the massive gap maintained between the two young mages, they finally reached the destination.

It was a small house they had stopped in front of; it had a white patio, two sizeable potted plants to decorate the front and a small garden with a rosebush on the side. It wasn't anything special, and the client from the job request was sitting on the patio, waiting for their arrival. When the old woman noticed the two approaching mages, she smiled with relief.

"You two must be the mages from Fairy Tail," she greeted, a kind smile on her face. They nodded, confirming her statement.

"We've come to look for the missing pet you advertised," Erza said calmly, holding up the job request poster in her head.

The old woman nodded. "That's right. Lucky was just with me a few days ago when I went to town to buy some apples but when I returned, I hadn't realised that she wasn't with me the whole time. It's been three days now since she's been gone and I'm worried for her," she explained, a solemn look on her face.

Erza digested the information with a nod. "I see. Can you describe the appearance of your pet? What animal is she? Any defining characteristics?"

"Lucky is black cat with a red collar around her neck. I know that she particularly likes climbing trees so I would recommend checking them first. I would go out and help but my health has been failing me lately. Please do find my Lucky," the old woman pleaded, her eyes getting watery.

"We'll do our best ma'am," Gray finally said, giving her a reassuring nod. Erza smiled in agreement, promising to find the cat as soon as possible. "Thank you for your help. I'll prepare you some apples for when you come back with Lucky," she proposed before waving the two off and stepping back into her house.

The two mages, now left alone, looked at each other with a sigh. "Let's split up, it's faster. I'll take the east, you take the west," Gray suggested before walking off without giving Erza a chance to speak. He could find that cat on his own. He didn't need her help, and even though it wasn't even his mission in the first place, he was determined to find Lucky before Erza did. Maybe that would show her who the experienced one was. He was _the_ Gray after all.

Erza rolled her eyes at his behaviour but agreed nonetheless, walking over to explore the west side of the town. He was right, she had to admit. It would be faster to split up, and this way she wouldn't have to deal with the awkward tension that always hung between the two. Besides, this was her mission. She was going to prove to both Gray and Master that she was more than capable of going on a mission by herself.

With a newfound determination, Erza wasted no time in scouring the area for trees that could house the small black cat. She had decided to search the trees near the town where the cat was last seen, hoping to find some clues. It was easier said than done however, when she found no clues in regards to the missing cat, nor had she found any trees with a speck of black. This was going to be harder than she thought, she thought with a frown. If she were a cat, where would she be?

Meanwhile, Gray thought that he was off to a pretty good start. He had found someone, a girl a few years older than he, who had said that she had seen a black car stuck up high in the tree and so he had taken her word and followed her to the tree she saw the cat in. Ironically enough, the tree that they had stopped in front of had been an apple tree, and a very tall one at that. How could cats climb something so high?

"Lucky!" Gray called, trying his best to see if the cat was perched upon a branch. However from where he was standing, he could not see a thing. Frustrated, he decided to use a little of his ice magic to build him some sort of lift to elevate him higher.

"Ice Make: Stairs," he cried, forming a small set of stairs, high enough to give him the height advantage he needed. Satisfied with his work, the ice mage carefully climbed up the stairs, grinning when he noticed a ball of black fur curled near the trunk of one of the higher branches.

The girl beside him looked up expectantly. "Did you find her?"

He nodded happily. "Yeah. Thanks for your help by the way. If you'll excuse me though, I've got a cat to get," he remarked, climbing back down to walk closer toward the base of the tree.

Without a moment to waste, he formed the respective hand sign and cried, "Ice Make: Ladder," a long ladder being created entirely out of ice. He carefully manoeuvred it so that it was leaning stably against the trunk before deciding to climb. He knew that what he was doing was probably dangerous, and stupid in a way, considering that he was climbing a ladder made of ice, an element known for its slippery nature and its fragility. However this wasn't just any ordinary ice, this was his ice and he was more than confident in his ability to create inanimate objects from ice. After all, that was the sort of magic he practiced in the first place.

Swiftly and without hesitation, the young mage started climbing higher and higher up the ladder until he reached the branch upon which the black cat was perched. Pausing high up the ladder, with chants not to look down, Gray leaned over to see if the cat was still there. And sure enough, she was. Still curled up in a ball, resting with her eyes closed, the black cat was oblivious to her new company.

Gray thought about his options. He could just grab the cat there and then, but then he would risk falling off the ladder from a dangerously high height. The other option was to wake the cat, but even then that posed some sort of danger. He didn't know if the cat was a grouchy riser (like he was) and since she had claws, it was all the more risky. But without anymore options, he decided to just screw it all and take the risk. After all, how much trouble could a small cat be?

Obviously he had said that too early when he started loudly, but gently, cooing the cat awake. "Lucky, here kitty kitty. Your master's worried about you, it's time to get up."

He continued calling the cat, hoping she would awaken but all he got in response was an eye opening before closing again after completely disregarding his presence. He tried raising his voice a little louder, but even then the cat only responded with a yawn before snuggling back into her ball.

Frustrated, and feeling his muscles start to get sore, he decided to risk touching the cat, hoping to get more results. And boy, did he get results.

Gray ended up sporting a nasty red scratch mark on the side of his cheek as the cat hissed at him angrily, her claws sharpened and ready to pounce once more. The young boy howled in pain, trying his best to restrain the expletives that were threatening to pour from his mouth as he placed a hand on the scratch, wincing in pain.

"Ow! You stupid cat!" he cried in pain, using a bit of his ice magic to numb the pain. From between his fingers, he glared coldly at the cat who was still hissing at him.

"No more Mister Nice Guy Lucky. You missed your chance after you scratched my face," he announced gruffly, a sigh of relief escaping his lips when he could no longer feel the sting. Ah, the advantages of practising ice magic sometimes.

The cat only hissed in response, her sharp claws digging into the bark of the tree. Removing his hand from his face, Gray swiped his hand out to grab the cat, only to be scratched once more.

This time he let out a loud string of curses as he clutched his arm in pain, oblivious to the small crowd that had gathered below him. The townspeople had been curious as to what was causing the small disruption in the area and the sight of a boy on a ladder made of ice was all the more appealing as they watched from below. It was kind of entertaining, watching a boy and a cat fighting each other to get down.

Meanwhile Erza was almost about to give up her fruitless search when she had noticed a small crowd in the distance. They were crowding around a large apple tree, and seeing as how she had not checked that tree yet, she decided to take a quick peek. What she found was not what she was expecting.

There was the cat alright, and next to her, standing dangerously high up an ice ladder, was an annoyed Gray who was busy trying to swipe at the cat without getting clawed at. If it weren't for the fact that they were on a mission, she would've stood back and continued watching in amusement. But they were on a mission, and Gray didn't look like he would get the cat down any time soon.

With a plan now in mind, she confidently marched up to the base of the ice ladder, her companion not having noticed her presence yet. Erza requipped an extra long staff from her collection as well as a net before asking two people from the crowd to hold it for her. Making sure that the net was in the right place, the redhead wasted no time in raising the staff up the tree until it was near the branch Lucky was on.

Disrupting their little fight, Lucky caught notice of the stick and was instantly enamoured, sticking out a paw to grab the stick. Satisfied that she had garnered her attention, Erza rotated the stick in small circles to keep the cat occupied, making sure he followed the staff's movements. When she noticed the cat about to make a grab for the staff, she pulled it away, Lucky missing a step before falling off the branch with a loud meow in surprise. Quickly instructing the two townspeople, Erza managed to catch Lucky in the net where she was lowered slowly on the ground. She crouched down to touch the cat, a small smile gracing her lips when Lucky leaned into her touch with a soft purr in approval.

Gray, meanwhile, watched the entire scene in awe and jealousy. That stupid cat had left so many scratches on his skin that he wasn't sure how long they'd be there for. He could've gotten that cat down himself, he thought to himself sourly as he slowly climbed down the ladder, glaring jealously at Erza who had now cradled Lucky in her arms.

If it weren't for the fact that he was practically brimming with jealousy and that he felt like shooting something, the thought of Erza being cute would have crossed his mind, although he would never have admitted it. Erza, cute? Those two words shouldn't ever belong in the same sentence.

The mage grumpily walked over to the redhead, glaring daggers at the furry ball from hell cradled in her arms. "I had it covered," he told her sourly, crossing his arms with a harrumph.

Erza rolled her eyes but said nothing, continuing to stroke the cat to sleep. "I'm sure you did," she muttered quietly, never once looking up to see his annoyed scowl.

"Yeah yeah, now let's just get this cat back to the client and get the jewel. I've had enough for one day," he muttered, feeling the numbed scratches beneath his fingertips.

"Whiner," she quietly remarked to herself before following the boy back to the house. She could hear the townspeople praise her for her actions and couldn't help but feel a surge of pride. She had successfully completed her first mission, and she felt great.

The old woman was waiting for them on the patio, and looked positively relieved when she noticed Lucky cradled in Erza's arms. A wide smile spread across the woman's face as Erza passed Lucky onto her. "Thank you so much for finding her. I knew going to Fairy Tail for help was a good choice," she said with a grateful smile.

"We were only doing our job," she replied kindly.

"So modest. But I must give you your reward, and the apples I promised you too."

And so the three enjoyed polite conversations whilst they munched on several juicy slices of apples. As the woman bade the two mages goodbye, Erza felt the excitement of wanting to tell someone of her accomplishments. She had managed to complete her first mission successfully by erase of and earned a good amount of jewel in return.

As they walked, Gray trailed behind her with a small frown on his face. "When we get back, don't tell anyone where I got these scratches from," he said loudly, a wave of embarrassment crushing over him.

Erza rolled her eyes, hiding a small smirk. "Right, I'll tell Master that you were a great help from protecting me against the big, bad cat," she teased. If it weren't for the fact that he was greatly offended by her insult, he would have picked up the playful tone in her voice and how he had managed to somehow uncover some of that armor even for a little while.

"Shut up," he muttered, quickening his pace so that he was now in front of her. He wouldn't admit it, not to anyone, but maybe this mission wasn't such a waste of his time after all.

* * *

Cana listened to his story in utter amusement, trying to stifle the onslaught of giggles that were threatening to erupt from inside her. She couldn't believe that the _almighty_ Gray was bested by a cat, and a small black kitten no less.

"It seems that you really do have a thing with luck though. It's ironic that the black cat was named Lucky, but what's more interesting was that until Erza came along, you were having terrible luck with that cat. Kinda reminds you of the brilliant luck you were supposed to have _that_ day," she remarked offhandedly, not noticing the furrowed brows of the mage beside her.

Now that he thought about it, it was pretty ironic that a black cat, a symbol of bad luck, was named Lucky. But the bit about Erza being his good luck charm in a sense, that was all wrong. It was all just a coincidence, right?


	2. Sweet Rivalry

_Day Two: Versus_

* * *

He often wondered if he had the worst luck in the universe. Just when he thought that he had crossed the obstacle that was her tattooed first love, another obstacle in their relationship had appeared.

And this time it came in the form of strawberry cheesecake.

It was ridiculous to think that he was getting all worked up over a piece of cake, but it was reasonable if you understood his side of the story. For years he had always been the second choice. From the moment he met her, he had been the second choice. There was always someone else in her heart, someone who occupied a much greater space in her heart.

But as the years passed, he thought that he had eventually won her over when he found himself appointed the new boyfriend of Erza Scarlet. He was now the one being given those loving gazes and those tender smiles reserved just for him. Yet despite this there was always something blocking him from achieving the full experience. It was strawberry cheesecake, and it was the very thing that could ruin his relationship with Erza.

It was common knowledge that Erza loved her strawberry cheesecake. What wasn't common knowledge however, was that Erza devoured a full cake each day. It was an unhealthy obsession but she couldn't seem to give it up. What Gray had noticed though, was that every time she took one bite, she seemed to be instantly happier. And after she had her daily intake of one cake a day, it brought on the brightest smile he had ever seen on her to date. The effects of strawberry cheesecake on her were tremendous, and it was unfair that as the boyfriend of Erza Scarlet, that he wasn't the source of these positive changes.

 _He_ should be the one to make her instantly happier. His very _presence_ should put her in a good mood. And _he_ should be the cause for those bright smiles, not a blithering piece of cake. He was getting beaten by a piece of cake, and he really was not liking it one bit. At least Jellal was a real person. But to be second place to a piece of cake? It was preposterous, and did no wonders for his ego.

Gray Fullbuster was getting beaten by a slice of strawberry cheesecake.

And it was absolutely embarrassing. What made it worse was that it appeared that the safety of her cake was more important than his, and the cake seemed to be her first priority, not him. He was living a truly sad life. He didn't think anyone had it as bad as he did in the love game.

"You should do something then, if it'll get you to stop whining. It puts me off the alcohol," his alcoholic friend suggested, taking another chug of beer.

"My whining puts you off alcohol? I should remember that," he muttered to himself in amusement before getting punched in the shoulder by the card mage.

"Shut up, I'm trying to help you here. Be grateful that I'm giving up some of my time to listen to your sorry ass complain," she retorted in annoyance, watching as the mage rolled his eyes.

"I'm only telling you because Loke's too busy with his girlfriend, Lucy's not here and Mira will do something dramatic which I'm not too sure I want to find out about," he said, sipping a beer of his own.

Cana waved him off. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Anyways like I said, you should do something about it then. Like give her an ultimatum or something."

He raised an eyebrow in amusement. "What? Like it's me or the cake?" he asked playfully, chuckling slightly before pausing abruptly as an idea struck him.

"That's it! You're a genius Cana," he exclaimed before dashing out of the guild. The card mage shrugged, taking another chug of her beer in satisfaction.

"Well that takes care of that," she remarked offhandedly, a lazy smile on her face.

* * *

He knew what he had to do. Checking that he still had some jewel on him, he walked to Erza's favorite cake store, the very place he knew she spent half of her life in.

As the bell chimes jingled, the owner of the shop looked up in delight. "Oh, Erza's boyfriend right? What brings you here?" he asked pleasantly, greeting from behind the counter.

"I'm here to pick up a box of her usual. She doesn't know though," he told him, a small smile on his face.

He got the hint however when he winked at him. "Ah, a surprise I see. Erza's lucky to have someone like you. She talks about you all the time you know, whenever she comes here. From what I'm seeing now, it appears that you're just like how she says."

Gray raised an eyebrow in surprise. "She talks about me?"

He nodded. "You're all she ever talks about."

A surge of elation flowed through him as he mentally fist pumped in the air in victory.

 _Gray: 1, Strawberry Cheesecake: 0._

Honestly, the revelation that Erza actually talked about him had elated him so much that he was almost about to back out of his plan, _almost_. Call him a jerk for not trusting her enough, but if you were in his shoes you would understand. He had been second place for so long that now that he was the one who was chosen, it was a little hard to believe. That didn't mean he didn't love her though. He did, and very much so.

He cracked a wide grin at the owner. "I see. So what does she say?" He couldn't be all the more curious. He had often wondered what Erza thought about him. After all it was Erza, and you never knew what she was thinking.

The owner grinned back at him. "Only good things, only good things. So don't you worry. Although she does go quiet when she looks at my cakes but that's normal. Everyone goes quiet when they look at my cakes. That's just how delicious they are," he jovially chuckled, not noticing how his companion's grin turned into a frown.

Damn it, just when he thought that he had one-upped the cake, it still ended up one-upping him.

 _Gray: 1, Strawberry Cheesecake: 1._ They were now tied, much to his displeasure.

"I see," he replied quietly before flashing him a weak smile. "I guess I'll just go get that cake then."

The owner nodded, passing him the box of strawberry cheesecake. "It's on me. Erza's a regular here, and I owe her so much. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't be getting half the revenue I get today," he chuckled to himself, and Gray almost felt for him, _almost_.

"Thanks. I should probably visit here more often then," he remarked lightly, taking the cake box. The cake owner flashed him a mysterious grin. "I think Erza would like that very much."

His brows furrowed in confusion. "Erza? What does Erza have to do with this?" he asked, but received no response for another pair of customers had entered the shop. The owner looked apologetic but Gray took this as his cue to leave, confusion rolling off him in waves. Whatever did he mean? He would have thought that Erza would be angry with him if he really did visit the shop all the time, thinking that he would start stealing her cakes from her.

With a sigh, he shook away those thoughts as a newfound determination took over his senses. It was time to find out once and for all. Who held the biggest space in Erza's heart? It was him or the cake.

And frankly, he thought it was the cake.

* * *

Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea, he told himself belatedly as he stood in front of his girlfriend's room at Fairy Hills. He knew that she was home at around this time, and thus had decided it would be the perfect time to put his plan into action.

Dressed in a black tuxedo, complete with a red tie and white polo shirt, Gray stood nervously in front of Erza's door, his arm held up to knock on the door. Deciding to screw it all, he loudly knocked on the door thrice, nervously adjusting the box of cake in his hands.

As he heard the shuffling of footsteps behind the door, he wondered if it was too late to back out. This was probably one of the most nerve wracking moments of his life and he was sure looked pretty stupid, standing outside of Erza's door dressed in a suit and carrying a box of cheesecake.

However it was too late to start bolting when the door in front of him swung open, revealing the red headed beauty he was ever so besotted with. Raising an eyebrow in surprise, her mouth hung open slightly when she took notice of his formal wear.

"Was there a date I wasn't informed about?" she asked bluntly, before her eyes zeroed in on the white box in his hands.

She was about to take it, already recognising it as a cake box, but was stopped by a gruff clearing of the throat as Gray shuffled back only just slightly.

"I need to ask you something Erza, and it's very important. I'd rather we take it inside," he said seriously, quickly scanning their surroundings to make sure that no one was watching.

She was confused but agreed nonetheless, moving aside to allow him to walk into her room. Closing the door behind her she turned around, only to find the cake box opened and Gray looking at her with an expression mixed with worry and desperation. Now she was really confused. What on Earthland was going on?

"Gray, is something the matter?" she asked carefully, unsure of how to approach the situation. She had never seen him acting like this, and for him to be acting so solemn, it must be something very serious.

The ice mage looked up, staring right into her hazel orbs. "I'm second place, aren't I?"

His statement took her aback as she looked at him with a frown. "Second place? What are you talking about? I chose you didn't I? I thought we've been over this," and they have. She knew just how sensitive the topic of Jellal was between the two, especially with Gray. She knew that he had always felt as though he was fighting a losing battle and that he would never truly win against him. She couldn't blame him. She had been in love with Jellal for so long that for her to finally move onto someone she only just realised to have loved just as long would indeed be hard to believe, especially since he had always felt as though he were friend zoned. But she thought that she had made it perfectly clear that she loved him. Honestly, it kind of hurt her that he lacked that much faith in her but she understood.

"It's not Jellal this time, it's the cake," he replied, lightly shaking the cake.

Gray watched intently as her eyes immediately darted to the cake and a protest for him to stop shaking the box hung from her lips. "What are you talking about?" she had asked, but her eyes had not left the cake.

Just to test his theory, he moved the box to the right, watching as her eyes followed. He moved it to the left, and her eyes also moved to the left. If it weren't such a serious situation, he would've taken the time out to tease her. She was like a cat.

"This proves my point Erza. Compared to the cake, I'm not really first place am I? Which is why I want to give you an ultimatum."

At that, her eyes finally left the cake and a frown made it's way on her features. "Ultimatum? Gray–"

"It's me or the cake Erza. Who holds the bigger place in your heart? You can't choose us both, only one," he said sternly, his gaze serious. She looked at him, scanning his features. She had never seen such a serious expression on his face. He must really be serious.

At this thought, her gaze softened as she stepped forward, Gray's breath hitching. He watched with his heart pounding against his ribcage as the requip mage took the box from his hands.

 _He knew it_ , he thought depressingly. It was the cake. He was about to step away when her next actions froze him in his tracks.

Erza had taken the box of cake and gently removed the box so that she was holding the cake. With a hardened stare, she threw the cake to the ground, watching as it got smashed into pieces.

Gray watched with his mouth agape and his eyes dilated in shock. Did she just–? Did _Erza_ just–?

The redhead looked up from the cake, deciding to step on it to prove her point before walking confidently up to the dumbstruck mage. Before he could even comprehend what happened, she had grabbed his face in her hands and pulled him down to her, connecting her lips with his. She sweetly kissed him, hoping to convey her heartfelt emotions to him before breaking apart, a tender gaze locked on him.

"You versus the cake, how silly. I chose _you_ , remember? I'll always choose you."

To prove her point, she pulled him down again to give him another long kiss. Gray finally regained control over his conscious state as he snaked his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. He couldn't even describe the amount of euphoria he had felt in that moment. And for the first time, he truly did feel like he was first place in her heart.

 _Take that you stupid cake!_ he thought to himself, smiling against her lips.

 _Gray: 2, Strawberry Cheesecake: 1._

When they finally broke apart, Erza regarded his victorious smile with a roll of her eyes but hugged him tighter, resting her head against his chest. She hoped that now he finally understood just how much she loved him, especially since she was willing to smash a perfectly good cheesecake. But oh well, she got something much sweeter instead.

Gray rested his chin upon the top of her head and he smiled goofily to himself as he regarded the smashed cake on the floor. It was silly, getting hung up over something as petty as this but they were not normal people after all.

Erza managed to break the moment however, when she moved her head up to look up at him. "You still have to clean that up though," she nodded toward the smashed cake on the floor.

 _Damn it!_ Gray: 2, Strawberry Cheesecake: 2.

"But later. Right now I think we should go on a date since you're all dressed up."

 _Ha, you've got nothing on me you stupid cake._ Gray: 3, Strawberry Cheesecake: 2.

"Actually I take that back. I don't want my house getting infested by cake eating bugs or something."

Gray looked down at her with a scowl. "Just choose a side already!"

She laughed. "You, always you," she replied before she glared darkly at him, "but make me drop a cake like that again and you're dead."

And in the end, the cake still won.

 _("They always did say that second was the best.")_


	3. Destructive Cliches

**A/N:** My apologies for the lateness of this one. I couldn't get it up on time. But better late than never, right? It'll be a double update, with Day Four's prompt also up. Also, this oneshot is a little experimental. The timeline is a bit iffy, but it's a year after Lucy joined and ignoring the time skip.

 _Day Three: Date_

* * *

 **Akane Resort Rides Destroyed – Fairy Tail to Pay Thousands of Jewel for Repairs**

On the eve of August 20 X785, the word famous Akane Resort found itself being significantly impacted by shards of ice and multiple swords.

The bumper cars, the resort's newest ride, had been decimated by the onslaught of magic swords and ice lances with most of the bumper vehicles being either completely crushed or frozen solid in ice. Other rides also, such as the Ferris wheel and the Cyclone roller coasters were also severely affected by either ice or swords. It appears that the rides have broken to bits, been frozen into ice cubes or their support beams have been completely smashed, bringing down the rails of the rides in the process.

What could possible have been the cause for such mass destruction?

Eyewitness reports state that the cause behind the destruction of this famous resort had been the result of an unruly fight between an over-competitive couple who claimed to be ' _having fun on their date_ '. The couple in question, identified to be Fairy Tail's Titania, Erza Scarlet, and Sorcerer Weekly's hunky ice mage Gray Fullbuster, had been enjoying a cliche date at the amusement park due to Erza's insistence that they experience something seen only on lacrima vision.

"We were only trying to enjoy ourselves for the night. Erza wanted something cliche and romantic so we tried the amusement park. Of course it didn't end up going too well for us, my apologies toward Akane Resort. We didn't mean to completely destroy your rides. It just happened," stated a regretful Gray Fullbuster who promised full compensation for damages they had caused.

When asked how these rides became nothing more than a pile of rubble, Erza Scarlet explained, "Gray and I were simply having fun on the bumper cars. We made sure to keep bumping into each other for the fun of it, but our competitive natures got in the way so we ended up going a little overboard. Gray was the one who attacked me first however. He was the one who used his ice to freeze my car so it was natural for me to react with my own magic."

"She was the one who started it, not me. I only froze her car because she kept cornering me into a wall and I wasn't able to move for a whole five minutes," Gray protested. It appears that damage to the bumper cars had indeed been the result of over-competitive mages with amazingly destructive power.

When confronting Fairy Tail's guild master on the matter, we received no comprehensible response except for a fainting spell after master Makarov Dreyar was given the notice of repairs form, indicating the prices to pay for the repairs of rides on Akane Resort. From what we gathered, Fairy Tail has a lot of jewel they need to pay, which isn't a complete surprise given their history. Fairy Tail is Fiore's number one guild, and even though they are they best when it came to complete infinite job requests, they had a tendency to destroy towns in the process.

A representative from Akane Resort had also given their input on the matter. "The bumper rides were our most popular attraction, but after this particular incident Akane Resort's amusement park will have to be closed for the time being. When we reopen however, we will be strictly monitoring the usage of magic and will prohibit mages from entering certain rides. This is to ensure that an incident like this shall never happen again."

It appears that mages will be severely limited on their fun in Akane Resort but it is for the best of all civilians, the representative had reasoned. The mass destruction occurring on Akane Resort had never been seen before, and it only occurred due to a date between two madly in love but wildly destructive mages.

Let's hope that Akane Resort opens with even better rides, and that Fairy Tail will be able to compensate the losses.

* * *

"What on earth were you doing at an amusement park?" Makarov screeched, waving around the prices for repair. He had gone deathly pale after noticing the amount of zeroes and after having recovered from his short fainting spell, he decided to lecture the two kids on their actions. His face had turned red from all the shouting they had caused him to do.

The two mages shared a guilty look as they hung their heads down in shame. Erza especially, was beating herself up over committing such actions. She had never been scolded as badly as this from Master before and now she was feeling the effects of it. However she still didn't regret ever going on that date with Gray. It was the best one they ever had.

"We were just going on a date Gramps," Gray answered weakly, wincing when he saw Gramps turn ever redder than before.

"A date? You're meaning to tell me that you destroyed a _whole_ theme park because of a _date_?" he exploded, not believing his ears. He would have thought that they were in danger, but no, it appears that they were just going on a date. He would have expected this sort of behaviour from Natsu, not these two.

"Natsu wasn't with you?" he asked, trying to confirm that the dragon slayer had nothing to do with it. If he had been there, Akane Resort would have only been a pile of ash. Luckily it was just frozen solid.

Erza shook her head. "It was only Gray and I Master."

Makarov nodded, slightly relieved at this fact. However he was still boiling mad. Did they know how much Fairy Tail was going to have to pay? And just after paying off repairs on a town Natsu recently destroyed. They didn't have that sort of money.

"As punishment, you two will have to take as many job requests as you can for the week with little break. I want you two to pay for half the jewel. And no more dates in crowded, public areas," he declared, sending them off with one firm look before walking away, his hand tightly clenching on the form in his hand.

When Master was out of earshot, the two mages lifted their heads and shared a look with each other. "I'd say it was worth it," Gray remarked, receiving a small playful punch on his shoulder.

"But we'll have to pay for half the damage after our little bout," Erza replied lightly, surprisingly not as upset as one would have expected. Gray's presence had relaxed her considerably and she was less uptight than before. She still held onto her morals however she was not as strict with them as before. And Gray had considerably matured around her presence. She really couldn't remember the last time he had instigated a fight with Natsu. They were good for each other.

Gray smirked to himself, placing an arm over her shoulder. "Think of it as a blessing in disguise. Master never said we had to do them separately, and I'm sure you're itching for more dates."

Erza smiled when she realised what he was implying. "So dates on a mission then? I guess we better get started. We wouldn't want all the good ones to be taken."

The ice mage's smirk grew wider. "Lead the way my lady," he mocked, gesturing for her to move.

Erza only rolled her eyes, laughing softly in response. They were good for each other, and there was no other way she would've liked it.


	4. Matchmaker Times Two

**A/N:** I feel like this is more NaLu than GrayZa but oh well.

 _Day Four: Teamwork_

* * *

It had been a week since Natsu had started moping around the guild, and frankly as much as it was surprising it was annoying, and Gray Fullbuster had had enough. The stupid flame brain would not shut up about how Lucy was ignoring him and how he had done something wrong. Normally he wouldn't concern himself with their affairs (he did wonder what Lucy saw him in however), but their little falling out had lasted long enough and he honestly could not stand to hear Natsu moping around any longer.

Before he had met Lucy, nothing would ever get him that down and if it did, he was always revving up to go fight someone. Then Lucy came along and he liked to think that she changed him for the better, although no one told him that the ice mage would have to put up with such nonsense along the way. It was off putting, seeing Natsu mope around like a lovesick fool, and he didn't think that he would ever forget the memory now, though it did give him shudders just thinking about it.

He needed to do something, anything, to fix Natsu and Lucy's relationship and save him from acting all buddy-buddy with Natsu to try and comfort him. Although he really didn't do any comforting, just make matters worse by plainly insulting him and nitpicking at what he did wrong.

But he didn't know where to start, and he definitely was not going to ask Mirajane to help him. She would take it too far, considering that she was far too invested in their relationship, along with his and Erza's. Speaking of the redheaded girl, he had noticed her enter the guild with a small frown on her face.

Walking over to her, he raised an eyebrow in curiosity and concern. "What's wrong?" he asked, stopping in front of her.

Erza looked up, a hand on her chin in her thinking pose. "Lucy's not coming out of her house. I've tried speaking to her but she refuses to see Natsu's face. She did tell me the reason behind their fight and frankly, I don't know if they'll ever recover."

Gray's curiosity was only peaked as his eyebrow raised higher. "Why? What did that idiot do now?"

Looking around the guild for a moment, she grabbed his hand to take him outside. It was a confidential matter and she didn't want to risk anyone else hearing. "Natsu forgot their first year anniversary. She had been hinting at it all week but when the day came, he completely forgot about. Lucy tried confronting him but she found him pigging off with Happy at a diner. That idiot blew her off for food, and didn't even bother to apologise. The next day, when she tried speaking up, Natsu completely ignored her and decided to go on a job request without offering her to come. I don't know what Natsu was thinking but she was really upset about it. And Natsu still hasn't apologised," she explained, wanting to punch someone because of Natsu's stupidity.

Gray was unimpressed and shared the same feelings. That idiot. Lucy was the best thing that happened to him and yet he was letting her slip away. What was strange however, was that Natsu forgot such an important date. If it was important, he would remember it. And even if he couldn't figure out what Lucy was hinting at, Happy was there to help him out. So what happened?

"Are you sure Natsu forgot? He wouldn't forget something like this. There had to be a reason for it. Even I know Natsu wouldn't be that stupid," Gray reasoned, watching Erza's expression change when she realised he was right, it was strange behaviour coming from Natsu. There had to be something more.

"What do you suggest on doing?" They had to help mend their friend's relationship. They were their friends, and friends helped each other. Plus Erza was really liking that whole double date dynamic their team had going on.

Gray frowned. "I don't know. I just want to fix their relationship so that I don't have to hear Natsu mope anymore."

The redhead thought to herself. "Maybe we should let them sort it out, but we need to get them in the same room together. It's a matter between them, but I think we can give them that little push."

He nodded. "That sounds like a plan. You handle Lucy, I'll handle Natsu and we meet up at my house. We can lock them up in my guest room or something."

Erza nodded in agreement before giving him a chaste kiss. "See you later then."

"Yeah, see you," he said with a dazed smile before the frown took over his features once more. Now how was he going to get Natsu to come? He hadn't exactly moved from the same spot for the past week, except to go bathroom but that was it. Gray didn't have dragon slayer senses, but even he could smell that he hadn't showered for a week. The stench was overwhelming.

Sighing, he walked back into the guild and was not surprised to see the dragon slayer slouched over the wooden table, his head resting on the table while his arms were stretched out in front of him. Rolling his eyes, he took a seat in front of him, waiting for Natsu to acknowledge his presence. But the flame brain wasn't doing anything and considering that he wasn't very patient right now, he decided to use a little violence. It had been a while since he had given Natsu a good beating.

Without hesitation, the ice mage stomped on Natsu's foot, smirking triumphantly to himself when he felt Natsu jerk before sitting up to howl in pain. He held his injured foot while glaring at the smirking mage.

"You bastard! What the fuck was that for?" he cursed, massaging his foot.

"You were acting like such a drama queen the past week. It's getting annoying Natsu," he replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

"So? And I have not been acting like a drama queen ice princess," he retorted, the pain finally subsiding.

Gray rolled his eyes. "Yeah right drama queen. Tell me what else have you been doing other than mope about Lucy the past week?" When he received no answer, he smirked in triumph.

"Exactly you idiot. You haven't even showered man. You fucking stink." To prove his point, he grabbed one of Natsu's arms and forced him to smell it, his smirk growing wider when the dragon slayer jerked back in surprise. He looked down at himself in horror.

"Blergh, I didn't notice I needed a shower. Geez I stink," he muttered.

"You don't say Captain Obvious. Anyway, enough moping and do something about it you dumbass. I know why she's angry at you and frankly, I would be upset too. You screwed up big time flame brain," he said.

Natsu raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You know why she's angry at me? Tell me ice prick."

Gray scowled. "Figure that out yourself dumbass. I'm only here to knock some sense into you, and to help you and Lucy make up. If you agree to this, come with me. Otherwise wallow in your pit of misery for all I care," he told him before getting up to leave the guild.

As he walked, he heard Natsu groan for a bit before finally stumbling after him. Natsu, check. All they needed now was Lucy, and he wasn't worried. It was _Erza_ bringing her over.

* * *

Erza banged loudly on the celestial wizard's door for the third time, annoyed when she didn't get a response. Normally she didn't like breaking and entering but this was a serious situation.

"Lucy, I'm coming in!" she warned before lifting a foot up to kick down the door. Before her foot could make contact however, it flew open and she ended up falling unceremoniously onto the ground. Lucy watched in shock as Erza picked herself up off the ground without looking the least bit embarrassed. It was just like her falling in that pit on Galuna Island. Her composure was crazily scary.

"Erza? What are you doing here?" she finally asked after getting over the initial shock. It wasn't everyday you saw Erza Scarlet tumble to the floor like that.

Erza said nothing, instead grabbing Lucy by the wrist and deciding to drag her to the destination rather than talk to her. It was better that Lucy didn't know what was going on. She highly suspected that she would run off and refuse to meet Natsu at all costs. But Erza wasn't going to let that happen, not on her watch.

Lucy was caught by surprise and the firm grip on her wrist told her that she had no hope of escaping. She could only just follow along obediently, which she did after stumbling after her and trying to regain her composure. She didn't know where Erza was taking her and decided not to ask. The redhead was looking particularly determined and even after years of a strong friendship, she was still rather scared of her. She suspected that Gray was too, and he was the redhead's boyfriend.

Minutes later and they finally reached their destination, Lucy downright befuddled when she noticed the familiar exterior. "Gray's house? Why are we here Erza?" she asked but received only a tug in response as the redhead dragged her inside. It was open, which was strange but Lucy couldn't think anything of it as she was dragged upstairs.

Erza was glad to see that Gray had arrived before they did, and wasted no time in leading (dragging) Lucy to the guest room. Standing outside the guest room's door was Gray, who shared a look with her, signalling that Natsu was already inside. She nodded in understanding before Gray opened the door and Erza pushed Lucy in, the ice mage immediately slamming the door shut and locking it from the outside.

The two shared a look of triumph, satisfied with their work. "You managed to get him to come," Erza noted, impressed.

He nodded. "Yeah, it was easier than I expected. And I see you didn't even bother speaking to Lucy," he remarked, recalling the grip she had on Lucy's wrist. He felt sorry for the poor girl, being on the receiving end of Erza's brash nature.

"I figured that she may run away. She wasn't really listening to me when I started talking," she replied before a silence overcame the two, both unsure of what they should do next.

"So what now?" Gray asked, leaning against the door with his arms crossed.

"Now we wait," she replied, standing next to him and leaning her head on his shoulder.

They stood silently for a moment before a smirk crept its way onto Gray's face. "Or we could do something better while we wait, like some kind of victory celebration for our flawless teamwork."

Catching onto his words, Erza replied with a smirk of her own as she slowly wrapped her arms around his neck. "And what do you suggest?" she asked seductively, breathing on the ice mage's lips.

He stared down at her, his eyes darkened. "I think you know what I'm suggesting."

She smirked sexily at him. "But maybe I just want you to demonstrate," she replied huskily, pulling his head down to meet hers.

He didn't reply, instead connecting his lips with hers as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him as they got lost in each other. The two were wound up in their own world, oblivious to the other couple on the other side of the door.

* * *

Lucy stumbled inside and was more than surprised to see a ragged looking Natsu looking at her in desperation. Had she really done that to him? His appearance tugged on her heartstrings but she restrained herself from going over him to embrace him. She was still hurt.

"Lucy..." Natsu started, deciding not to walk closer due to his stench. He'd rather her nostrils stay safe from his overwhelming stench.

"Natsu," she greeted curtly, deciding to stay near the door just in case she needed to bolt.

"Lucy, I'm sorry. I think I have a feeling as to why you were so mad with me and let me tell you now, I didn't forget. I was just carried away," he confessed, looking rather embarrassed.

The blonde frowned in confusion. "Carried away doing what? You were clearly stuffing your face!"

"Happy was helping me plan your surprise but we did in a diner so we got distracted. I was planning to make it up to you the next day but I realised that I hadn't prepared anything yet so yeah," he explained sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Forgive me though Luce?"

A few tears escaped her eyelids when she realised how wrong she had been and she was about to cross the room to give him a hug when Natsu put a hand up to stop her. "I don't think you should come any closer," he warned.

"Why not?" she asked confusedly. Was he angry with her? She sincerely hoped not.

Natsu looked away in embarrassment. "I haven't showered for a week and I really stink."

Lucy gaped in horror. "Natsu!" she screeched, turning around to try and open the door so she could escape. She was beginning to smell his stench and she was grateful that Natsu had stopped her before she did something she would regret. However when she tried to twist open the door handle, she found it to be locked. Eyes widening in panic, Lucy banged on the door.

"Gray! Erza! Please let me out! _Please!_ Natsu's smell!" she shouted, not willing herself to turn around to face Natsu. The stench had reached her nostrils and it was taking her all not to puke right there and then. He smelled like stinky fish and charcoal, lots of charcoal.

Gray and Erza, who had been in the middle of a rather passionate kiss, ignored her pleas, Gray breaking away only briefly to yell a response.

"Not until you two make up!" he yelled before attaching his lips with Erza once more, his hands playing with her long strands of red hair. Erza pulled him closer, locking him in a firm headlock and refused to let him break away from her again. His kisses were oh so addicting that she needed more, she needed more of those lips on hers.

"We already did make up! I'm serious! Please open the door!" Lucy begged and Natsu was about to come and help her get it open when she halted him with a screech. "Open the window first Natsu!"

Gray smiled against Erza's lips when he heard the little commotion going on in the room. His room may stink afterwards but right now he really didn't care. He was too lost in the heat of the moment, and Erza was being especially aggressive today, a side of her he liked a little too much.

"We should do this more often," Gray muttered against her lips after hearing her let out a small moan.

"I'd say we're better matchmakers than Mira," she replied as Gray pulled her even closer.

"Or we're just _that_ good," he remarked teasingly.

"Mhmm, now shut up. More kissing, less talking."

"Yes ma'am."


	5. Lost and Found

**A/N:** This is late, again. My apologies. It's getting harder to catch up it seems.

 _Day Five: Lost_

* * *

Erza was freaking out. This could not be happening, not to her. After all the extra care and precaution she had taken to ensure that she would never lose it, she lost it in the end. She had put it down for a minuscule for a second and looked away but when she looked back, it was gone. Missing without a trace.

The redhead had taken it upon herself to search through all of her five rooms at Fairy Hills, hoping that it should at least be there somewhere. It couldn't possibly have escaped the twenty walls of her room, unless it was animate which she highly doubted. She had started off searching beneath her bed, inside her cupboards, drawers and all the shelves. Every nook and cranny inside her personal bedroom. She had been so focused on searching for her missing valuable that she hadn't noticed the mess that had piled up in the process after having thrown everything out into the open. If they weren't what she was looking for, she didn't care what happened to them.

When the first room had turned up to be empty, she wasted no time in searching the second room. It was extremely important that she find it, otherwise she would never live with herself. Especially since she knew how important it was to him too. She was trusted with keeping it, and she would be damned if she never found it again.

Searching through the stands of armor she had on display, the redhead was so focused on scouring the room that she didn't hear the pebbles being pelted against her window. They had become increasingly louder, with some having threatened to crack the fragile glass, and yet the scarlet haired mage still took no notice of the ongoings outside of her room.

Gray wondered if the requip mage was either deaf or she wasn't even home. He highly doubted either, considering that she had some of the best senses he had ever seen and if Erza wasn't at Fairy Hills, then where was she? After noticing her unusual absence from the guild that morning, he had grown increasingly worried. Erza had promised him that she would meet him there so that they could go on another mission together, so when she had failed to turn up, he grew anxious.

Erza was always prompt and was never late. She would always be there, especially if it was something concerning the both of them. He had noticed her dedication toward their relationship early on and he couldn't stop from feeling touched by it. She was trying to make it up to him, he figured, after all those years she had been oblivious, too caught up in affairs concerning her first love. But he would be her last, and he would make sure of that when the time came.

After throwing the twentieth pebble against her window and receiving no response, the ice mage gave up entirely on trying to be cautious. Fairy Hills was a girls only dormitory, and the presence of males was strictly prohibited. But he didn't care for that right now. All he needed to know was if Erza was safe.

So the ice mage slipped through the front door, keeping his back against the wall as he slowly crept toward Erza's room (he knew where it was after being in there so many times before since he was given special clearance from the redhead herself), his eyes darting around the premises to make sure he was the only one in the area. After finding that he was indeed all alone and seeing the Erza's room was just around the corner, he wasted no time in barging in, eyes darting everywhere in search of the redhead. All he found were all five rooms in an absolute mess with belongings sprawled all over the ground and several piles having built up.

He raised an eyebrow in shock, now curious as to what the hell Erza was up to. He was even more surprised to find that she hadn't heard him barge in after all the commotion he made. He walked inside, turning his head to find the redhead crouched beneath one of her armors, looking inside of it with utmost concentration.

"Erza?" he asked, walking closer to her. He heard her faintly muttering to herself over and over again, "Where is it? Where is it? I have to find it?"

She didn't reply, still too focused on her search to listen. He tried again, "What are you looking for? Maybe I can help."

"I'm looking for something valuable. It was something that Gray–" she trailed off when she finally caught sight of her visitor, realising who it was who had caught her. Her eyes widened infinitesimally in surprise before she schooled her expression into one of indifference.

"Gray? What are you doing here?" she asked with masked nervousness. If he knew she had lost it, she didn't know what she'd do. She didn't want him to think that she was so careless and that she couldn't be trusted with anymore of his valuable items.

He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Well you didn't show up to the guild for our mission so I got worried. I came up here to check on you," he confessed, watching as the redhead's eyes widened when she realised the time.

"Damn it, I was late wasn't I? I'm so sorry Gray, I lost track of the time," she replied, angry at herself. She couldn't believe she had forgotten the mission they were supposed to be going on that day.

Gray shook his head, noticing her guilty look. "It's fine Erza. We can go on the mission another day. Instead, let me help you find whatever it is you lost that coincidentally relates to me. Speaking of which, what is it?"

Erza went rigid, having hoped he wouldn't ask that question. She couldn't tell him the truth. She didn't think she could handle seeing that disappointed look on his face. She didn't want to be a disappointment to him, he was too special to her.

"It's nothing. It was just another one of your shirts you left here," she lied, hoping he would buy it.

But he didn't. He knew when she was lying, she would always look especially calm. "I see, but is my shirt really that valuable that you had to mess up all five rooms to find it?" he asked, motioning to her mess of her room.

It was then that Erza had finally realised the extent of the mess she had made, and boy was it messy. It would take ages to clean it all up. But that didn't matter now. Gray was on to her, she had to evade him somehow. "It's my favourite shirt! It has the strongest scent of you," she lied, letting a blush stain her cheeks for effect.

Even though he knew it was a lie, he still felt touched that she had placed something as silly as a shirt in such high regard. At least he hoped she did. "Well if you're so determined to find it let me help you find it. What shirt was it?" he questioned, deciding to okay along. Maybe he would find out the truth along the way.

She was relieved, but made sure she didn't show it as she wracked her brain to remember the shirts she secretly kept in her wardrobe. "It's dark blue and it has a white star on the centre."

Gray remembered that shirt and couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that he couldn't call her out on another lie. He didn't remember having it back at home so maybe he did leave it here. Erza didn't know it, but he knew all about that stash of his clothes she kept in her wardrobe. He had found it on accident after having spent a night with her before.

"Got it. I'll search over here," he motioned to the room where the wardrobe was and she nodded, not having noticed that detail. The sooner she got Gray off her trail, the better. She couldn't risk him ever finding out.

As Gray walked over to the room, he immediately headed to the wardrobe, taking a little longer than usual as he had to dodge the mess on the floor. She really did go all out on her search. Whatever she lost definitely had to be that valuable for her to both mess up her room and forget a promise she made with him. Finally reaching the wardrobe, he opened it up and searched for the bottom drawer where he knew all his clothes were. Taking a look behind to make sure Erza was in her own world, he opened the drawer and rummaged through it carefully, finding the said blue shirt at the bottom. He carefully pulled it out, closing the drawer as well as the wardrobe door and scrunched the shirt up slightly, making it look as though it hadn't been folded just a while ago.

While he walked back to where the redhead was, he was about to call her and tell her of his success when he heard her not so quietly mutter to herself as she searched another piece of armor. "He can't know that I lost it. I have to find his necklace before he realises that I lost it. It meant everything to him, I can't lose it now."

He halted in surprise, digesting her words. So that's what it was. She had lost his cross necklace, and she was too scared to tell him about it. He didn't see why however, since he got that necklace at a silver merchant store for a really cheap price and it held no significant value. But she thought it had, especially because when he had given it to her, he had said some rather cheesy heartfelt words, about how she should think that the necklace was him and even when he wasn't with her, the necklace was, and she should think of it as him. He could remember the swell of pride he had felt when he first saw her wear his necklace. It was as if he had publicly announced to the world that she was his and he couldn't feel anymore happier than he was. It was a male thing he guessed.

He bit his lip when he felt his pant pockets, fisting the very cross necklace that wasn't lost at all. So maybe he had neglected to tell her that he had taken it because he wanted to see just how valuable it was to her and well, he got his answer now didn't he? If the mess of the room wasn't anything to go by. But he couldn't possibly fess up now. She'd kill him.

So looking down at the shirt in his hands, he came up with a plan. Walking up to her with a triumphant smile, he fisted the shirt in his hand, making sure the necklace wouldn't fall out otherwise that would seriously ruin the whole plan. "I found it Erza," he announced, showing her the shirt.

He watched as Erza's eyes widened in surprise. She couldn't believe he found the shirt. If she weren't so panicked, she would've realised that it was never lost in the first place. But the necklace was still missing and she needed to find it, fast. "You found it," she said with a faux tone of happiness.

He nodded, smiling at her. "Yeah, but I think your nose needs to be checked. I don't smell my scent anymore," he answered, handing her the shirt. He made sure that the necklace didn't fall out during the exchange. That would've been disastrous.

As Erza held the shirt, she realised that there was something else with it. Lifting the shirt, she noticed the very necklace that she had been looking for all morning. It had taken her her all not to scream in relief and happiness that she had found it, but since Gray was just there, she needed to stay as calm as ever.

"Happy?" he asked, watching her reaction when she saw the necklace.

She nodded, smiling rather brightly at him. "Very. Thank you Gray. I have to make it up to you somehow."

He nodded. "It was no problem. Just make sure you don't lost it again," he said with a wink before deciding to depart. Erza couldn't help but feel that his words held a deeper meaning but shrugged to herself, too relieved to care.

But then she noticed something.

"Wait, Gray! You have to help me," she called just as he was about to step through the doorway.

He turned around in curiosity. "Do what?"

She smirked at him. "Clean up. It was your shirt that made me do this after all."

He paled considerably. "On second thought, if you exempt me from cleaning then you've made it up to me," he said before running off, not wanting to hear her response. He had a feeling she was going to chase after him and he needed a head start if he ever wanted to outrun her.

Erza smirked to herself. She was too happy to chase him, so she'd let him off the hook just this once. As Erza put on the necklace, and slipped on the shirt before she began cleaning, she realised something.

"Where did Gray find it? And I don't remember the shirt ever being lost somewhere," she muttered to herself before it finally made sense. The necklace was a little colder, icier even, than usual. She clenched her fists. That bastard.

"Gray Fullbuster, when I get my hands on you I swear you'll regret it!" she yelled, taking off after him with her Flight Armor on.


	6. Joke's on You

_Day Six: Pranks_

* * *

"Erza, don't you think you're taking this a little too far?" came a question from a very concerned Lucy Heartfilia. She was speaking for the rest of the guild too; it had been a week. A week since two of the guild's most powerful mages had had their worst falling out in their two year relationship and had begun their silent treatment. No one knew what the actual argument was about. There were rumours here and there, but none seemed reliable enough to believe. All they knew was that whatever had caused this fight had to be something pretty big for the two mages to be completely ignoring each other for the whole week.

At first, everyone thought that it would all blow over after a day, considering that the two were known for their immensely stable and resilient relationship. However when two days turned into three, and three days into seven, everyone was starting to get worried. No one had seen a fight of this magnitude occur within the guild, and even Natsu, who could really care less for romance, was also beginning to get concerned.

The two had been going out of their way to avoid each other, and to not be caught in the guild at the same time as the other. They had even asked a few friends to act as messengers to deliver messages to each other but apart from that, the two completely and utterly ignored each other. Where there was one, there was never the other. And after seeing the two together for so long, the sight was all the more stranger.

Even Master had tried his best to try and get the two to make up but his efforts had been proven futile when the two refused to listen, something that came as a shock to the guild since Erza was refusing even Master's orders. It was getting really out of hand, and enough was enough, especially now that Erza had come up with the bright idea to undertake a Ten Year Job in order to completely avoid Gray altogether. Lucy knew that Erza was extreme, but this was a little too extreme. What she found strange however, was that it had appeared that the two were not 'officially' broken up yet. But from the way Erza was acting, it was like they were.

"Lucy's right Erza. This is a little too extreme. Taking on a Ten Year Job in order to avoid Gray just doesn't seem like you. In fact, you haven't been acting like yourself lately. What exactly did you and Gray fight about Erza?" the white haired barmaid asked, deciding to join in the conversation.

But Erza refused to answer, ignoring the input from her friends. "I'll just tell Master about my decision to take on this request," she announced, standing up from her table to walk over to Master.

Lucy and Mira shared a hopeless look, worry and concern shining in their eyes. "We have to do something Mira. We can't just have Erza go on that mission without her solving her issues with Gray. Ten years without Erza? That's hard to imagine," Lucy told the mage, anxiety eating away at her soul.

Mira nodded in agreement. "You're right Lucy. We should talk to Gray. He's easier to handle than Erza."

And just to the girl's luck, the said ice mage had stepped into the guild at that exact moment. The guild went quiet as soon as he made his appearance, not having seen the two mages in the same vicinity for so long. They watched with bated breaths as Gray looked up to meet Erza's eyes in realisation. It was only a few seconds before the redhead broke the connection and the ice mage had turned to shuffle out of the guild, never once looking back. Erza's fists were clenched but she said nothing as she continued on her way to see Master.

Not wanting to miss the opportunity, Lucy abruptly stood up and hurried out of the guild after him, Mirajane in tow. They were going to fix this mess and go back to the way things were before, with a happy requip mage and happy ice mage in their happy relationship.

As Lucy hurried to catch up with Gray, her pace slowed when she noticed a familiar mop of pink hair collide into the shirtless mage. Lucy's brows furrowed in confusion. Where did Natsu even come from? She had thought that he was at a mission. Not wanting to disrupt the two, she moved to hide nearby within hearing distance. At least then she would be able to hear them and be hidden at the same time.

"What's wrong with you ice princess? You and Erza haven't talked in a week and it's getting on my nerves!" he shouted in anger, clutching his shoulders in the process.

Gray scowled at him, pushing him off in annoyance. "What's it to you flame brain? This is between me and Erza."

Natsu frowned. "What's it to me? It's got everything to do with me when two of my best friends are ignoring each other and disrupting the rest of the guild! Did you know that Erza's planning to take on a Ten Year Job just so she doesn't have to see your stupid face anymore?"

If Gray was surprised by the news, he didn't show it as his features were schooled into one of indifference. He looked completely unaffected by the news but Lucy was hoping it was otherwise. If Gray couldn't talk Erza out of it, no one could, and that was a fact. Ever since the two had become intertwined, Erza had become a little more tamer when Gray was around. He was the only one who could calm her down and the one to make her smile brighter than anyone else. Without him around, Fairy Tail would still see the uptight and strict S-Class mage she was before Gray came along. And frankly, everyone preferred this looser Erza much better.

"It's her choice, not mine. If she wants to take on that mission, let her. It's not like any one of us can stop her," he replied nonchalantly, the least bit affected by the news.

Natsu grew even angrier at his nonchalance. Didn't he care? He was the one who was driving Erza to go on that quest on the first place! Fairy Tail wouldn't be the same without Erza, even if it was only for ten years. Who else would he have to fight then?

Before the dragon slayer could lash out and possibly bruise the ice mage's stupid face, Lucy stormed in looking angrier than they had ever seen her before. Her face was contorted into a deep frown and her fists were clenched at her sides. "That's where you're wrong Gray. You know better than anyone that you're the only one who can talk her out of this," Lucy said in a voice so calm it was deadly.

"And what if I don't? Why don't you guys just let her go on the mission. I don't care about her," he replied, only to receive a deafening slap in response from the blonde herself.

Natsu gaped in shock. If the situation weren't so serious, he would've applauded Lucy. That's what the ice prick got for his behaviour. He totally deserved it.

"You're despicable," Lucy told him with a deadly glare. "How dare you say that you don't care for her. You were in a relationship with her for two years, two _years_ Gray. Don't tell me that that meant nothing to you, especially when you told me yourself that you loved her. What is wrong with you Gray?"

Gray regarded her with a cold stare, his expression not deceiving anything. "Nothing's wrong with me. And everyone falls out of love eventually. It's only a matter of time before I fell out of love with her."

A look of pain shot across Lucy's face, and Natsu who couldn't take it anymore, decided to shut the ice mage up for good. Before either of the two could comprehend what happened, Natsu knocked the ice mage cold, almost tempted to stomp on his face when he fell to the floor.

"He was talking shit," Natsu remarked, leaning down to toss Gray over his shoulder.

Lucy watched him in confusion. "Where are you taking him?"

Natsu turned around. "I'm taking him to Erza and locking them in a room or something. They'll sort it out themselves," he answered before continuing to walk back to the guild. Lucy decided to follow; Natsu's plan wasn't so bad. By getting them in an enclosed area, they would have to talk to each other.

Mira, who had been watching the entire scene, ran up to walk to Lucy who regarded her in surprise. "Mira, I didn't know you followed me."

She nodded. "I needed to see what would happen. I don't want my favourite couple breaking up so soon."

Lucy quirked a smile at her antics. Same old Mira. "Neither do I."

The two followed Natsu and the unconscious Gray on his shoulder as they walked back to the guild. When the quartet (including Gray) had entered, it immediately went quiet as all pairs of eyes were directed toward the unconscious mage on the dragon slayer's shoulder. Natsu walked straight up to Master, who had halted his conversation with Erza, and had turned his attention toward the slayer, noticing the mage on his shoulder. He gave him a look of approval before waiting for Natsu to speak. "Do you have an empty room we could put Gray in Gramps?"

Makarov merely raised an eyebrow but didn't question him. The boy had a plan alright, and he wasn't going to stop him. "The infirmary is empty right now. You could lay him on one of the beds."

Natsu nodded before turning to Erza, who had been watching silently. She raised an eyebrow at him. "What?"

"You're coming too Erza," he declared boldly, the guild now more focused on them than ever. Everyone held their breaths, waiting for the redhead to respond.

She crossed her arms. "And if I refuse?" she challenged.

Natsu grinned at her. "I'll just force you."

Erza rolled her eyes. "Fine, but on one condition."

The slayer nodded for her to continue. "No one is allowed to peek or eavesdrop. I know what you're trying to do Natsu. And if anyone hears something they're not supposed to, consider me gone for the next decade."

Natsu frowned but agreed nonetheless, turning to the rest of the guild. "You hear that guys? We can't eavesdrop like we were supposed to."

A collective groan sounded through the guild as Natsu turned back to the requip mage. "Happy?" She nodded in confirmation, waiting to follow him.

Natsu led her to the infirmary, where they had found it to empty. Plopping Gray down on of the beds none too gently, he straightened before giving Erza a wave. "You can take care of this prick, right? Knock some more sense into him."

She nodded, motioning for him to go. He understood and left immediately, wanting them to sort out their problems quickly. Honestly, he wasn't cut out for these sorts of things. Relationships were such hassles sometimes.

* * *

When Erza was sure Natsu was out of earshot, she walked up to the door and locked it before turning back to the mage on the bed. A soft smile graced her features at the sight as she grabbed a chair and pulled it up to sit next to him. Gently, she ran her fingers through his raven locks, marvelling at how soft his hair was. He looked so peaceful like this. It had been a while since she had seen him sleeping since she always fell asleep first. It was refreshing to see him asleep for once, although he wasn't actually sleeping per se.

Deciding that it was time, Erza leaned over and planted a soft kiss on the ice mage's cool lips, pulling back to see navy orbs locking with hers. He smiled up at her rather lazily, his eyes tender. "That was a pretty good wake up call. I wouldn't mind getting hit by Natsu like that if I were being woken up like that all the time."

She rolled her eyes at his remark, continuing to stroke his hair. "Oh shut it Sleeping Beauty. It's been a long week."

He sighed in agreement, deciding to close his eyes as he enjoyed the feeling of Erza's fingers stroking his hair. It was very relaxing, and he felt as though he could fall asleep any second. "You don't say. Pulling a prank like that for so long seriously takes a toll. Pretending to be angry at you for a week, you should've seen their faces." He smiled at the memories. Their expressions were all so priceless. He should've taken a picture or something.

"Oh I did see their faces. The Thunder Legion's and Mira's were especially entertaining," came her response. Indeed, she felt bad for playing them all like that but the entertainment she got from it was worth it. Besides it wasn't as if she didn't see Gray at all that week. When they were out of the guild, away from prying eyes as everyone thought they were still giving each other the silent treatment, they were really just lazing around at Gray's home, cuddling on his bed as they spent some quality time together. It had been a long, long, while since the two were able to peacefully stay with each other without any interruptions and they had enjoyed it, immensely.

"Sadistic little one, aren't you Erza? You know, I never knew you'd have it in you. This was all your idea after all," he remarked, tone impressed.

It was true, Erza had come up with the bright idea to fool the guild with a week long silent treatment in order to achieve peace and quiet time with Gray. She had been getting frustrated over the continuous interruptions that had been occurring that would usually interrupt them in ehem, rather heated moments, and frankly she couldn't take it any longer. She wanted more Gray time, and she clearly wasn't going to get it when the guild was so invested in their relationship. That was the reason they had wanted to keep it a secret in the first place. But they ended up getting caught and the guild would use all their time being nosy with all the ongoings of their relationship because apparently, a tamed Erza was fascinating. Their words, not hers.

So she decided that if they pretended to be angry with each other, the guild would leave them alone because they were too scared of her bursting. It had worked of course, and she had managed to catch up on all her missing Gray time. "Shut it you. You also agreed with me. Besides, don't act as if it wasn't worth it."

"I'm not complaining, if that's what you're implying. That was the best week of my life you know."

She smiled wider as she decided to join him on the bed, resting her head on his chest as she cuddled up to his side. Gray wrapped an arm around her waist, bringing her closer, and let his chin rest atop her head. "I'm glad to hear it."

The two went quiet for a while, enjoying each other's presence. It had indeed been a long week, but they weren't complaining. What they got out of it was more than rewarding.

Suddenly Gray flicked an eye open when he remembered something. "Seriously Erza though. A Ten Year Job? You really are extreme sometimes. I can't imagine a whole decade without you."

"Neither can I. But be glad this was all a set up. I don't think I can imagine a decade without you either," she said to him.

"But I have to say, you were on to something though."

She looked up at him, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Why don't we take on a Ten Year Job together. Just you and me, and a whole decade to ourselves. No interruptions. Sounds good doesn't it?" he proposed, proud of his idea. It wasn't such a bad idea. Sure he would miss everyone at the guild heaps, but Erza would be him so that was okay.

She nodded against his chest. "That is a good idea. But maybe next time. When the guild finds out what we did to them, they won't talk to us for a week."

"And is that such a bad thing? If they ignore us, more us time and less interruptions."

"You do have a point. So what now? Ten Year Job?"

He nodded. "Ten Year Job it is."


	7. The Cold Never Bothered Me

**A/N:** The last official day of GrayZa Week 2015.

 _Day Seven: Snow Day_

* * *

It wasn't common knowledge but Erza was actually quite fond of the cold, in particular the snow. To others it would appear that she was more of a summer person, considering that they would always catch her outside to enjoy the sunlight. But only he knew that she was actually more of a winter person, simply because he was the reason behind it.

Erza had grown so used to his cold habits that she had eventually warmed up to the winter also, having a newfound appreciation for all things cold and icy. Somehow she had also gained a new immunity to the cold because apart from him and Natsu, she was the only one who could stand in the middle of the snow with nothing but a tank top and shorts, just like how she was right now.

With a plain white tank top and a pair of incredibly short denim shorts, the redhead in question stood in the centre of the white snowy plain, her eyes scouring the area for a certain raven haired male. She stood stiffly, senses on high alert as she reacted to even the slightest of sounds. She was going to get to him before he got to her. She would make sure of that.

A slight rustle and the noise of sinking snow from her right immediately had her bending down and picking up a carefully moulded snowball. Without hesitation, Erza threw the snowball with perfect aim and watched from the distance for any sort of reaction. The sound of a grunt brought a triumphant smirk to her face as she readied some more of her icy ammunition. The ice mage was going down.

Gray was getting annoyed. He had hit Erza a grand total of zero times and Erza? Erza had hit him– the feeling of another snowball hitting him on the chest brought him out of his reverie as he belatedly ducked, trying to hide. He rested his back against the snow covered log, making sure that he was completely hidden from view as he cursed inwardly to himself. Five times. She had hit him fucking five times.

He was supposed to have had the upper hand in their battle of snowballs. He was an ice mage, meaning that he was far more experienced with all things cold, especially after the hard training Ur had put him through as a child. And yet he was losing to someone who had less experience and only just retained immunity to the cold, disregarding the fact that the someone in question was Titania, and Fairy Tail's strongest female wizard.

Running a hand through his messy hair in frustration, he wondered how he were to even out the scores. Coming up blank, he decided to mould a pile of snowballs instead as he tried wracking his brain for some full proof strategy to get back at the redhead. Apparently he was taking too long because he felt another well aimed snowball hit the crown of his head just seconds after he had rolled the fifth snowball.

"Are you just going to stay hidden behind that log like a coward or are you going to make your next move?" Erza taunted, holding two more snowballs in her hand that were readily aimed. As soon as he came out in the open, she would hit him with all she had.

Gray scowled before a plan halted him in his tracks. He smirked, he knew what to do. Grabbing two of his snowballs, he held them at his sides as he formed a reply. "Taunting me now huh Erza? That really isn't your style."

And neither was this.

As soon as the retort slipped out of his lips, he was up and charging toward the redhead without hesitance, his arms flinging the two snowballs he had in his hands. He smirked wider when they hit her, one in the face and the other on her arm. Erza had seemed surprised by the action but that was only for a few seconds as she wasted no time in retaliating when Gray charged forward. She flung the two snowballs, hitting Gray in the chest and stomach, before reaching down to grab some more. She was confused when she saw Gray continue to charge forward even though he had no snowballs with him. However she didn't let that faze her as she continued throwing the snowballs with as much force as she could.

He had to admit, Erza had one mean throw. The onslaught of snowballs on his shirtless form had stung but they didn't stop him from continuing his charge. He knew he had no snowballs left and he didn't care. All he cared about was reaching her first, and her snowball defenses weren't doing a very good job at preventing that.

The more snowballs she threw, the more frustrated she became. _Why wasn't he slowing down?_ she almost screamed to herself as she threw yet another snowball at the ice mage. It didn't faze him as he continued forward and Erza was starting to feel nervous. She had noticed her pile of snowballs getting considerably smaller and she couldn't make more with Gray charging at her like that.

Her slight hesitance gave him the push he needed as he dived forward, grabbing her by the waist as he pushed her down on to the snow. He supported his weight by placing his arms either side of her head as he looked down at her with a smile on his face.

Erza's face was flushed, her cheeks glowing a bright red from all the action in the snow. Her hair was also entangled all over her face and she couldn't help but think she looked like a mess as she gazed back up at the ice mage, a matching smile on her face.

"You seem to be handling the cold better," he remarked after noticing her clothes, or lack thereof. He knew Lucy would scream at the sight, wondering how they could be so crazy, going out in such freezing temperatures without heaps of clothes on but he didn't really mind, and he knew she didn't either.

She grinned. "You've just rubbed off on me."

"Should I be proud?" he asked, his tone playful.

She shrugged. "I don't see why not. It just shows how close we are."

He gave her one last smile before closing the distance between them with a sweet kiss, the two feeling hotter than ever even though they were out in the snow. Snow wasn't so bad. You just had to take the time out to appreciate it.


	8. His Lion, Her Snake

**A/N:** Of course, I couldn't not do the Bonus Day for GrayZa Week. Well, there you have it folks. The end of GrayZa Week 2015, and the end of this oneshot collection. I'll definitely be participating next year if there is one. I hope you all enjoyed, and thank you to everyone who read, reviewed or supported this. Also special thanks to DeeDee The Dragon-Cat and Absolute-ZERO999 for your frequent reviews. You guys are the best!

Anyways since this prompt was a free for all, I decided to do a Hogwarts AU, since the Potterhead in me couldn't resist. In the future however, I may write a multichap Hogwarts AU GrayZa fic /winks/.

 _Bonus Day: Free for All (Hogwarts AU)_

* * *

Gray was in a sour mood. After having broken one of the school's windows during a fight with Natsu, he had been issued a detection in the dungeons. Now normally he wouldn't be as annoyed and would accept the punishment rather calmly. But considering the fact that the pink haired bastard ran off as soon as Professor Porlyusica saw the damage he had left, _he_ was now the one left answering to their actions when clearly, Natsu had played a large part in breaking it also. That flame brain, leaving him to deal with all the mess he created. And people often wondered why he didn't like the brash Gryffindor.

So now he was stuck in the dungeons after being ordered by the professor to clean all the cauldrons of her recent Potions class, and he quoted "as cleanly as possible, making sure they looked like they were just freshly bought from Potage's Cauldron Shop." It wasn't so bad, he had first thought when the task was issued, that was until he saw how dirty the cauldrons were. Some were severely burnt or mutilated, and others, well he wondered what the hell sort of potions these students were mixing in their cauldrons because he was sure as hell that the potion should not directly affect the cauldrons like they did.

And to double the effort he had to put in, he wasn't allowed to use magic because apparently that would be "contradicting the punishment involved" and he wouldn't actually learn from his mistakes. But she didn't know that it wasn't him that had to learn from his mistakes, it was _Natsu_ , that dumbass. When he got his hands on him later, he was going to give him hell.

That thought seemed to drive him as he got to working on cleaning the mutilated cauldrons, using the provided brush and soap he was supposed to use. Doing it the Muggle way he supposed. As a Slytherin who had also come from a pure blood family, he was supposed to be repulsed by anything Muggle in nature. But that wasn't the case for him. Gray could honestly not see what was wrong with them. They were just like them, except without the magic which made him pity them more than he could hate them. They lived such sad lives without magic. It was hard not to pity them.

As he scrubbed down one of the cauldrons with the brush, showing surprising skill considering he never did anything without magic, the dungeon doors opened to reveal a beautiful red haired girl who walked in such a way that she commanded authority wherever she went. Gray didn't look up, assuming it to be the prefect he was supposed to be supervised by. He didn't care as long as they stayed out of his way and didn't talk to him. He wasn't in the mood to speak, not when he had a Natsu to catch as soon as he was done.

The redhead watched him clean with contained surprise and fascination, admiring his skill in cleaning. It was as though he had cleaned cauldrons without magic all his life, but she knew that was far from the truth. Deciding to leave him be after seeing that he had not her acknowledged her presence, she decided to complete some of her unfinished homework that was due soon. Professor Porlyusica had only said that she had to supervise him, and she was but was multitasking. She assumed that she would be there for a while after noticing the pile of cauldrons he had to clean and decided not to waste her time in the meantime.

As Gray silently cleaned the cauldrons, amazingly working at a quick pace after three cauldrons had already been cleaned within ten minutes, Erza was busy doing her homework that Professor Jura had set earlier. There was complete silence in the dungeon, apart from the noise of the scrubbing of cauldrons and the scratching of the quill on parchment. It was only after a good half hour that Gray had finally acknowledged the prefect's presence, and imagine his surprise when he had found out who it was.

"Erza?" he spluttered in surprise, almost dropping the cauldron from shock. He had forgotten that she was a prefect, and shit, now it was going to get all awkward between them. The two had a rather complicated relationship. They used to be close childhood friends, but then people came and they ended up drifting. Also ever since they had entered Hogwarts, bad blood seemed to have existed between the two as other students found them to be frequently arguing, of course not as much as he argued with Natsu, but then Erza was always the one to break them apart and then they would end up arguing. His friends had often said that it was because they had some unresolved sexual tension with each other and that was the only way they could vent out their frustrations but they could not be more wrong. He didn't like Erza like that, at least he hoped so.

Erza looked up, her expression indifferent. "It certainly took a while for you to finally realise that Gray."

Her indifferent attitude annoyed him as he looked away, a scowl plastered on his face. What was she doing here? Of all the prefects Professor Porlyusica had to send, it just had to be her didn't it? As if things could get any worse for him. "I wasn't exactly bothered to see who had come to supervise me. I was after all, kinda busy," he replied, scrubbing the cauldron harder to prove his point.

She shook her head with a sigh, deciding to redirect her attention back to her homework. Of course, when she had tried to have a civil conversation with him for once it backfired. What had happened between them? It was a question she often asked herself and she couldn't help but miss the time when they were still such close friends, not enemies who constantly tore at each other's throats. Feeling regrets bubble up inside her, she pushed them away with a shake of the head. Now was not the time to be nostalgic. She had homework to complete and a student to ignore.

Gray grunted to himself when he realised that the conversation had just ended there but he didn't mind, at least that's what he kept telling himself. That was the most civil conversation they had ever had with each other after six years at Hogwarts, and he had blown it because he was so annoyed. He had to admit deep down however, that he truly did miss her company and oftentimes he wondered what would've happened if circumstances hadn't changed. Would they still be the best of friends? Or maybe something more? Shaking his head, he scrubbed the cauldron harder to try and rid himself of those thoughts. He would _not_ go down that route, not again anyways.

The silence between them continued for another twenty minutes until Erza had decided to break the silence, surprising them both. "Gray," she uttered, garnering his attention.

"What?" he asked a little too harshly, realising that that had come out wrong. What was he doing? If Erza was willing to do something to improve their relationship, he should take the chance. It was right there and already he was ruining his chances.

That didn't faze Erza however as she motioned toward his cauldrons. "How many?"

He paused in confusion. "What?"

She pointed toward the pile of dirty cauldrons. "How many cauldrons left?"

Gray moved back to check, counting only five. "Five left. Why?"

"Just asking," she answered in satisfaction before returning back to her homework.

He sighed to himself. Well that went well. But at least it wasn't him who screwed up that time. Shrugging, he continued to scrub, washing out all the soap that had built up inside the cauldron. Five left huh? If he were to finish these quickly then maybe, maybe he would be able to get the chance to fix his relationship with Erza. The thought of killing Natsu didn't seem so desirable right now after Erza had waltzed into the picture.

With a newfound determination, the Slytherin was able to finish cleaning all of the remaining cauldrons in record time, satisfied when he saw some twinkling as if they were brand new. Wiping his hands on a towel, the wizard picked up his satchel and walked up to where the redhead was seated, halting right in front of her.

Sensing that someone was near, Erza looked up to see Gray looking down at her with a serious expression. She looked beside him, impressed that all the cauldrons were cleaned before turning back to look at him. "Do you need something?"

"Yeah, your time," he replied brusquely, taking her aback.

"What?" she asked in disbelief, not believing what she had just heard.

Gray sighed. "We need to talk Erza."

Her brows furrowed in confusion. "About what? You're clearly done here, meaning that I should go back to report to Professor Porlyusica."

The Slytherin rolled his eyes. Either she was dense or she was plain avoiding him. "We need to talk about us. Clearly we haven't been on the best terms these past six years."

At this Erza stood up defiantly. "Clearly not Gray. And what's your point? Are you trying to repair our relationship? Or are you looking for another reason to fight?" she asked, her voice hardened.

He frowned. "My point is is that I want to be friends with you again Erza. I don't know why we drifted but I don't care about that now. I just want us to be friends again."

She looked suspicious. "Do you really mean that? Or do you have some hidden intention behind your words? I know how you Slytherins are. You weren't put into Slytherin without a reason Gray," she replied, her arms crossed.

Gray almost wanted to pull his hair out in frustration, but he had to keep his calm. If this were going to work, they had to be civil. "That has nothing to do with this. And don't try act like you Gryffindors are the best things the world has ever seen just because you guys have such good reputations. We're not bad people you know. But you judge us because of our predecessors. You Gryffindors aren't all that anyway. You're cocky, arrogant and stupid," he retaliated, his fists clenching. Well there goes civil out the window.

This was a sensitive topic for him, for all Slytherins actually. Just because they had some really stuffed up people in the past didn't mean that they were just as bad. Slytherins were always put into a negative light, and they were always placed as the bad ones in comparison to the all-loving, all good hero types that were the Gryffindors. Frankly Gryffindor had their fair share of rotten eggs too, if Natsu was anything to go by.

Erza glared at him, offended by his words. "I wasn't even saying that."

"But you were thinking it right? We're Slytherins, we're all bad people," mimicking her voice exaggeratedly.

"No I wasn't! Stop twisting my words Gray. And I wasn't even implying something bad, but you just had to take it out of proportion. Maybe this is why we ended our friendship in the first place. We never got along," she said before haphazardly gathering her stuff and storming out the dungeon. He was making her fume.

But before she could make it to the door, Gray had already slammed the door shut, muttering " _Alohamora_ ," to seal it closed. Erza glared at him, taking her wand out and aiming it at his chest.

"Move Gray, before I use a hex on you," she threatened, pushing the wand's tip deeper into his chest. He knew she was serious but didn't flinch.

"Not until you accept my apology. I'm sorry," he apologised sincerely, taking hold of her wand. He stared deeply into her eyes, waiting for her anger to subside.

And it did, soon enough. Her breathing calmed as she cleared her mind, rationalising that he was giving her a chance and that she wasn't going to let it slip by her fingers. She slowly lowered her wand and stepped back, giving him more space. "I'm sorry too Gray. I guess I overreacted."

He cracked a small smile when he realised that she was willing to make it work. "I was the one who overreacted Erza. There's no need to apologise."

"But–" She was stopped by a finger being pressed against her lips. "No buts, it's all on me," he said softly, Erza nodding as he let his finger fall away.

A silence overcame the two of them for a few moments, and surprisingly it wasn't as heavy as before. It was comfortable, both relieved that they were making good progress. "So, about what I originally said to you. Can we be friends again Erza?" Gray asked, his eyes locking with hers.

For the first time in a long while, he watched as a soft smile graced her features and honestly, he didn't think he had ever seen her look so beautiful. "Who ever said that we stopped being friends Gray?"

He shrugged but was overjoyed at her response. This, this was good. "So what now?" he asked, realising that they had already sorted out their issues.

Erza's smile grew wider, happy that she had regained her old friend back. She had missed him, immensely. "Well I have to go report to Professor Porlyusica remember? Though I have to admit, you were much more skilled than I thought Gray. I never knew you could clean like that."

He smirked at her. "There's a lot you don't know about me."

She rolled her eyes but was happy to see the atmosphere lifting. For the first time in a long time she felt content. "And there's a lot you don't know about me."

At this he frowned. "Yeah, now that I think about it we have a lot of catching up to do."

The Gryffindor nodded in agreement. "I know right. Six years was an awfully long time. I don't remember ever talking to you without arguing."

"That's because you didn't. Every time you saw me, you always had something to say," he remarked, chuckling when he felt her lightly hit his shoulder. Ah, the good times were back.

"That was only because you always had something to reply with," she accused.

He put his hands up in surrender. "Can't argue with you there Erza. Though, if Mira had something to say in all of this, she'd say we had some unresolved sexual tension between us and that the only way to let it out was by arguing."

Mirajane Strauss, a sixth year Hufflepuff, was perhaps Hogwarts' resident matchmaker. She always knew who had feelings for who, and would always pair students up together because she believed that they would find immeasurable happiness with each other. She was also exceptionally cunning, and both of them wondered how she never ended up in Slytherin when all she did was push people together. Her matchmaking skills were unrivalled however, and many of the most well known couples of the school had her to thank for bringing them together.

Erza rolled her eyes when she heard of the girl's antics. "Same old Mira. Unresolved sexual tension though? _Really?_ Sometimes I do wonder if someone spiked her pumpkin juice or something. That is the only reasonable explanation for her ridiculous ways of thinking."

Gray stood beside her silently, brows furrowed in deep contemplation. "They're not so ridiculous if you think about it."

She turned to him in surprise. "Are you sure? Because they seem ridiculous enough to me."

The Slytherin smirked at her with a smirk she knew all too well. It was a Slytherin smirk, the same one all Slytherin's had. It meant that they were always up to something. And it was only then that she had realised who her company was. How could she forget?

She felt less like a Gryffindor at that moment, feeling her courage dwindle. What was he up to? "Nope, they're not ridiculous at all. In fact, I'd say she was rather accurate," he uttered.

Before she could react, Gray had trapped her lips with his, giving her a kiss the made her legs weak and her body feel like they were a puddle of goo. He released her after a good twenty seconds for some air, his Slytherin smirk still in tact.

"See you later," he whispered huskily before waving her off with a wink, leaving the sixth year Gryffindor breathless and her heart hammering as she pressed her fingers against her lips.

A Gryffindor and a Slytherin. Who would have ever thought?


End file.
